LBS ethics question

I've decided I can tolerate lower end components, skinny tires and drop bars, but I cannot deal with a saddle I don't love. So while I hate my brakes that don't have a stupid quick release my butt craves comfort.

I think the Fizik Vitesse in white with pink accents is adorable. My old shop back in Portland said they've got one I can have for $80. After searching high and low I found an LBS here that I love and they have the plain black heavy one for $60. Not that weight matters on steel, but I've learned my lesson about selling saddles with bikes.

So the question is, do I buy from the LBS or my old shop? That pink and white one is hella spendy otherwise. The shop in Portland was never really my LBS I just scheduled my trips to Portland around buying parts because they had all the candy my sweet tooth craved. I loved the guys there, they treated me well and took good care of me. None of my local shops had cool parts, and were jerks for the most part.

The way I see it is I'm still patronizing a good and respectable shop that encourages bike love and sponsors a local team. There will be plenty of other things I can buy from the true LBS down the road. I feel guilty, but I have put so much into this bike, and really think I should get what I want.

Don't settle for a saddle you're not in love with just to buy from a store you'd like to patronize. There are always other things to buy from the local LBS. Get the saddle you want!

I say buy the saddle you want - particularly if the local shop hasn't been exceptionally cool:) There is always basic maintenance stuff to buy from them.

CA

I assume you wouldn't buy an uncomfortable saddle just to please some guys at a bike shop, right? (gosh i hope not!) Is it the money issue then?
Odds are that you will be on a multi-saddle quest for the perfect saddle anyway- that seems to be a common route for women.
You might want to look into buying a saddle online from a place that has at least a 30 day try-out period where you can return it if it's not comfortable.
Wallingford, Terry, and TE all have some sort of return policy on saddles.

Oo! Oo! Get the one with PINK!!! :D

Seriously, though, I wouldn't worry about it. Buy the one you want. Our LBS helped my husband with a MTB he was looking at on Ebay. They looked at it online and told him it was an insane deal, so he bought it. Now, granted, we have spent a ton of money there on other bikes and other stuff ... and still do. And so will you. (Well, maybe not a "ton"!)

Even if you didn't spend another dime there, I'd get the saddle you want.

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

I assume you wouldn't buy an uncomfortable saddle just to please some guys at a bike shop, right? (gosh i hope not!) Is it the money issue then?
Odds are that you will be on a multi-saddle quest for the perfect saddle anyway- that seems to be a common route for women.
You might want to look into buying a saddle online from a place that has at least a 30 day try-out period where you can return it if it's not comfortable.
Wallingford, Terry, and TE all have some sort of return policy on saddles.

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I used to have the Vitesse, loved it to pieces. According to the Fizik website the white and pink one is 140 euro. Eeek! Either way it's the saddle I like, but for $20 more I can have purdy colors and better rails.

The shop here in Boulder has been cool as hell. It was the ones in Central Oregon that sucked so much I drove to Portland and bought parts and had a hair appointment in Troutdale (some stylists are worth a 150 mile drive).

Okay, I don't feel so bad, getting the white and pink...

Remember it is possible that a saddle that is comfy for you on one bike might not feel the same way on another bike. I hope your pink and white one works out perfectly! :)

Have you asked your LBS about the pink and white one? Do they price match? If they can't get it definitely buy from elsewhere. If they won't price match, what's the price difference? If it's only $10, I say get it from the shop you go to every day. If it's more like $40, buy online. That's just what I would do!

Maybe I am reading this wrong, but your question is whether you are being 'unethical' by buying from an LBS that isn't local to you, correct?

Isn't the general idea behind supporting our LBS that we should support a small local business as opposed to big box bicycle stores and online retailers like Performance or Nashbar? If so, then buying from ANY LBS would be 'ethically' acceptable, even if its not in your own backyard.

Or am I missing the whole concept of supporting our LBS, in general? :confused:

If your new LBS carries Fizik, they can order you the pink and white one. The cost from one shop to the other shouldn't be to much different(assume they both mark up around the same amount). If so, it won't cost you any extra to have it ordered through them. I would ask them if they can order it, that way you start to form a bond with your new LBS.